First private launch to the ISS scheduled for 5am tomorrow

SpaceX's Dragon ready to take food, equipment to orbit.

After being pushed back several times, the first launch of a private vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS) is now set for early tomorrow morning (based on the timezone where the launch will take place). The Dragon capsule is set on top of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, and the assemblage was raised to a vertical launch position overnight. If all goes well, the vehicle will be sent to low-Earth orbit at 4:55am EDT tomorrow morning. For those of you located overseas (or willing to wake up early in the morning), NASA will have live coverage available via NASA TV.

The Dragon capsule will only be carrying supplies on this mission—food, clothing, batteries, and a laptop, according to NASA. But the journey should give both the company and NASA the chance to test out the capsule's sensors and control systems as it approaches—and assuming all those check out—docks with the ISS. This will provide an essential validation of a system that is intended to ultimately carry astronauts on a similar journey. Dragon capsules are in the process of being certified for human use.

The launch window for reaching the ISS from a site in Florida is fairly narrow, so everything will have to go off without a significant hitch for the launch to take place. In other words, if you set your alarm that early and wind up with nothing to watch, don't blame us. We warned you.